Lock support for containers



June 14, 1955 PETERS 2,710,732

LOCK SUPPORT FOR CONTAINERS Filed June is, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l 3 1'0 I INVENTOR: g g

4 W 20 37 A TTURNEYS.

June 14, 1955 1.. PETERS LOCK SUPPORT FOR CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 16, 1949 INVENTOR. m,

United States Patent LOCK SUPPORT FOR CONTAINERS Leo Peters, Evanston, 111.

Application June 16, 1949, Serial No. 99,486

7 Claims. (Cl. 248-100) This invention relates to a clothes container and guard, and is particularly useful when employed in connection with a service door or building panel.

Many problems arise in providing a method and means whereby clothes that are to be laundered or dry-cleaned may be picked up and delivered without causing undue inconvenience to the housewife. Many rear doors (service doors) of homes have the upper half or third of the door completely or partially panelled with glass. Support of the clothes container and guard above the glass is undesirable because many women are unable to reach to that height in order to remove a hanger from the support. A further serious problem arises because of the varying quantity of the clothes that are to be picked up or delivered. If a container is used, it has rigid limits to its capacity, and if this is exceeded, the housewife must remain at home for the pick-up or delivery. Further, in attempting to vary such structures so as to accommodate clothes of varying thicknesses, complicated structures providing for extension without rendering the guard insecure, must be employed. Such devices add weight and bulk to the structure. A further problem arises when a fabric bag is employed as protection and covering for clothes hanging upon a service door. Such bags add undesirable bulk at the point where space is at a premium-at the point where the bag is clamped into locking position. Not only does this added bulktake up space needed for clothes, but it also increases the mechanical problems of locking and guarding the clothes.

I have heretofore suggested door guards in which hangers are supported for the carrying of garments. The placing of garments upon hangers is often a tedious operation, and an advantage would be obtained if the garments could be collected and deposited in a container without requiring their placement upon hangers, while at the same time providing means for the hanging of the finished clothes or garments after cleaning, etc. A similar problem arises at the time of delivery of the cleaned garments. If the usual type of bag with a straight top edge is used, it is necessary to include the hanger hook as at least one of the hooks upon which to suspend the bag. When this is done, it becomes impossible for the housewife to hang or remove garments from a hanger hook without also hanging or removing the bag. It is much easier, e. g., when a large quantity of clothes has been delivered, for the housewife to remove a few garments at a time from the hanger hook rather than remove all at once. But if the bag is hanging on the hanger hook, the housewife must remove all the clothes at once, regardless of how few or many there are, before she can remove the bag which, in turn, would make it possible to get at the clothes piecemeal.

An object of the invention is to provide a clothes container and guard designed to meet and satisfy the above-mentioned needs and requirements and to overcome the objections set forth. A further object is to provide a hanger guard and bag clamp that can be fastened at any desired height or on a building panel. Another m ICC object is to provide such a structure which can be fastened at each end to side panels of a door and at any height on the door, regardless of windows. A further object is to provide a bag and clamping bar structure in which the bar will clamp over the open end of a bag and hold the bag in clamped and locked position regardless of the quantity of clothes in the bag. A still further object is to provide a clamping and locking structure which will handle a clothes bag of any size, while providing protec-' tion for the clothes through the use of a bar which is locked over a uniform thickness of the bag, regardless of the quantity of clothes in the bag. Yet another object is to provide a clamping bar hinged to swing in a circle of large radius so as to eliminate a need for a hinged arm or a tapered slot in the door at the locking end of a clamping bar. Another object is to provide a locking arrangement which uses the door itself as a catch for the locking bar and which bar will have a length approximately equal to the thickness of the door. A still further object is to equip the above described clamping bar with a locking part which does not equal one-half the thickness of the door. Still another object is to provide at protecting bag which lies flat at the top and adds no bulk at the point Where the hangers are hung, while at the same time providing a bag which hangs on several hooks so as to distribute the weight evenly when clothes are placed within the bag and enabling the bag to be finally clamped in closed position at its top. Yet another object is to provide in such a supporting structure a bag with a closed bottom and a notched top and which hangs on several hooks and is clamped into locked position independently of any clothes hook or hanger. A still further object is to provide in such a supporting structure a clamping and locking bar with several hooks, the center hook being useful for supporting clothes hangers and the remaining hooks being employed to support the bag. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated in preferred embodiments, by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of container and guard apparatus embodying my invention and as shown applied to a service door; Fig. 2, a transverse sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a broken, enlarged detail view showing the locking bolt structure; Fig. 4, a transverse sectional view showing the outer end of the locking bolt and the keyoperated pin for actuating the bolt, the parts being in position for locking with a key; Fig. 5, a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the locking bolt swung to locked position by rotation of the key barrel and the pin carried thereby; Fig.6, a view similar to Figs. 4 and 5, but showing the locking bolt rotated from the inside of the door to unlocked position; Fig. 7, a detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 7-7 of Fig. 3; Fig. 8,-a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing a modified form of lock; Fig. 9, a view of the outer face of the locking bolt, the view being taken as indicated at line 9-9 of 8; Fig. 10, a broken perspective view of a bag which may be employed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 11, a front view in elevation of the bag; and Fig. 12, a side view in elevation of the bag as supported upon the door and containing a bundle of clothes.

In the illustration given in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, 10 designates a door which may be provided with a glass panel 11. A support bar 12 is secured to the side portions of the door so as to extend over the glass panel 11 and, for this purpose, screws 13, or any other suitable means, may be provided for the secure attachment of the supportbar 12 upon the door 10. The support bar 12 is provided with pins 14, and centrally the bar is provided preferably with a hook or support 15 for clothes hangers,

3 etc. The support may be the same structure as the pins 14, or it may be of a different construction adapting it especially for the support of hangers. In the specific illustration given, the hanger support 15 is located centrally of the support bar 12 and there are a pair of pins 14 on each side thereof and in spaced relation. The pins 14 extend through eyeletted perforations 16 of a bag 17, and the central portion of the bag is cut away or notched at 18 so as to leave the hanger hook 15 exposed, as shown best in Fig. 1.

The bag 17 may be formed of fabric material reinforced with wire or impregnated or covered with any sturdy protective material. As indicated best in Fig. 10, the eyeletted openings 16 are aligned at the front and rear side of the bag so that when the openings 16 are placed over the pins 14, the top mouth of the bag will be closed. I prefer to provide the top of the bag with a stitched border 19, which further reinforces the cyeletted openings 16.

While I have described the support bar 12 as being a sturdy base for the support of the bag and aids in the clamping of the bag in closed position, as will be later described.

Any suitable means for clamping the closed end of the bag so as to prevent its unauthorized opening may be employed. In the specific illustration given, I provide a clamping bar 20, which is preferably of channelled cross-section, as illustrated in Fig. 7, and one end of the bar is connected by a hinge 21 to the support bar 12, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The bar is provided with spaced apertures 22 for receiving the pins 14 and the support 15. The free end of the clamping bar 20 is preferably equipped with locking means permitting an authorized person to lock and unlock the clamping bar as desired. In the specific illustration given, the clamping bar 20 is provided with a locking bolt 23. The locking bolt 23 extends through a passage 24 in the door 10 and is equipped with a locking projection 25. The door 10 is provided with a slot 26 extending laterally and communicating with the passage 24 of the door, and when the locking projection 25 is aligned with the slot 26, the

bolt 23 may be withdrawn through the door. Preferably, the door passage 24 and the slot 26 are made with suf-. ficient additional space to provide clearance for the bolt 23 and locking projection 25 when the bar 20 is swung upon its hinge to an open position, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Such clearance space need not be great because of the wide arc of travel of the bolt end of bar 20.

The bar 20 is provided near its free end with a key barrel casing 27, which receives the locking head 28 of bolt 23. The head 28 of bolt 23 extends through a reduced opening in the bar 29, and the head 28 is thus rotatably confined within the key barrel casing 27. The head 28 of bolt 23 is provided with a sector extension 29.

Rotatably secured within the key barrel casing 27 is a key barrel 30 adapted to be controlled by a key. Fixed to the key barrel and extending rearwardly therefrom is an actuating pin 31. When a key is inserted within the key lock and is rotated to move the barrel 30, the pin 31 is rotated from the unlocked position shown in Fig. 4 to the locked position shown in Fig. 5, and this movement produces a rotation of the sector portion 29 of bolt 23, so that the locking projection 25 of bolt 23 is swung to a position out of alignment with the slot 26. From the inside of the door, the housewife may rotate the bolt 23 independently of the position of the key-controlled pin tit) 4 31 to bring the locking projection 25 back into alignment with the slot 26, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

It will be understood that a variety of locking means manipulable from inside of the door, as well as the outside of the door, may be employed. If desired, a lock, such as is described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 89,115, now Patent No. 2,619,688, may be employed, so that the clamping bar 20 is automatically unlocked when the door is opened and so that the housewife, after opening the door, will have access to the clamping bar.

A modified form of locking device is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. In this structure, the rotatable locking bolt 32 is provided at its outer end with a hollow shoe 33 having slot 34 in its outer end. Through one end of the slot extends a locking pin 35 equipped at its end with a laterally-turned projection 36. When the projection 36 is aligned with the slot 34, the locking bar 26a may be moved away from the support bar 12a. The clamping bar 20:: is provided with a key-controlled barrel 37 to which the pin 35 is secured, so that, irrespective of the position of the locking bolt 32, the turning of the barrel 37 by the key may bring the locking projection 36 of the pin 35 into alignment with the slot 3-6 to permit the withdrawal of the pin 35 and the movement of bar 200 to nonclamping position.

A bracket 38 may be provided for rotatably supporting the inner end of bolt 32 and a torsion spring 39 may be employed with one end fixed to the pin 40 of bracket 33 and the other end fixed to the pin 41 of the hollow shoe 33. The spring is adjusted so as to normally hold the shoe 33 in a locked position with respect to the pin 35 or, if desired, the spring may be arranged for normally maintaining the shoe 33 is any desired position relative to the pin 35 and its locking projection 36.

The bag 17, as shown best in Figs. 10, ll and 12, may be of any suitable shape or contour. By providing the openings 16 along the top lip of the bag and employing the clamping means as described, there is presented a uniform bag thickness for engagement with the clamping members irrespective of the content of the bag, as illustrated best in Fig. 12.

Operation In the operation of the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the housewife may place the garments to be cleaned in a bundle within the bag 17 as shown in Fig. 12, or, if shewishes, she may also use hangers as shown in Fig. 1. After the clothes are placed within the bag 17, the bag mouth is closed by drawing the openings 16 over the pins 14 and the clamping bar 20 may then be swung to closed position with the bolt 23 extending through the passage 24 and slot 26 of the door It). The housewife may then turn the bolt 23 slightly so as to bring the locking projection 25 out of alignment with the slot 26. The bag 17 is thus maintained in locked or closed position. The pick-up man, upon arrival, may open the bag by inserting his key within the key barrel 3i) and rotating the pin 31 of the key against the sector 29 of the bolt 23 to bring the locking projection 25 again into alignment with the slot 26. The bar 20 may then be swung outwardly to free the pins 14 and 15, and the bag may be opened to permit removal of the clothes.

When the deliveryman returns the cleaned garments or clothes, he may suspend them within the bag upon the hanger hook 15, etc. and close the bag by inserting the pins 14 through the openings 16, and the clamping bar 20 may then be swung to closed position. By inserting his key, the deliveryman may then rotate the barrel 30 to move the pin 31 from the unlocked position shown in Fig. 4 to the locked position shown in Fig. 5. The housewife, upon her return, may obtain access to the garments within the bag by rotating the bolt 23 to unlocked position, as illustrated in Fig. 6, and it will be observed that this can be accomplished without moving the position of the pin 31 from its position, as shown in Fig. 5. The bolt 2.3 may then be swung outwardly to release the clamping bar 20, and the housewife may open the bag 17 for the removal of the garments.

The guard structure described occupies little space, is adjustable vertically, and may be operated from inside or outside the door for authorized locking and unlocking, while at the same time the clothes are effectively protected by the garment container, and the eifective sealing of the container is accomplished irrespective of the amount of garments held within the bag.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth specific embodiments in detail for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a clothes container guard having a bag support adapted to be secured to a door panel and being equipped with a movable member for releasably confining a bag on the support, latch means for releasably locking said movable member in bag-confining position, comprising a lock member rotatably mounted in said movable member, a bolt member adapted to be secured to a door panel and extend through a passage in the door panel and being rotatable therein, and interlocked members carried by said bolt and lock members and being separable when either the bolt or lock is rotated to a predetermined position with respect to the other, whereby said latch means can be released independently of said lock member from the inner side of a door panel.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said interlocked members are a hollow shoe providing a slot therein and being carried on said bolt member, and a locking pin carried by said lock member and receivable through said slot when the bolt and lock are in a predetermined posi tion relative to each other.

3. In a clothes container guard having a bag support adapted to be secured to a door panel and being equipped with a movable member for releasably confining a bag on the support, latch means for releasably locking said movable member in bag-confining position, comprising a lock member rotatably mounted in said movable member, and a bolt member adapted to extend through a passage in a door panel and being rotatable therein, said bolt being equipped adjacent the end thereof adapted to extend through a door panel with a laterally-extending locking projection adapted to abut the inner side of a door panel While being freely movable through a slot with which a passage through a door panel is provided to permit insertion and withdrawal of the bolt through the passage, said lock member and bolt being equipped with interconnected members dimensioned and arranged so that the lock member may be turned to rotate said bolt and align said projection with a slot provided by a passage through the door panel while said bolt is rotatable independently of said lock member from the opposite side of a door panel to align said projection with a slot provided by a passage through a door panel.

4. In a clothes container guard structure, a support bar adapted to be secured to a building panel, a plurality of spaced-apart pins carried by said support bar and being adapted to support a clothes bag thereon, a clamping bar apertured to receive said pins and being movable into clamping position with said support bar, and locking means arranged with said bars and comprising interconnected coacting locking members separately operable to effect independent disengagement of said locking means, one of said locking members being carried by said clamping bar and the other being adapted to extend through a building panel to which said support bar is secured.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which said support bar and clamping bar are pivotally connected adjacent one of their ends, and said locking means are provided adjacent the other of their ends.

6. In a clothes container guard structure adapted to be secured to a door, a support bar adapted to be rigidly secured to said door, a clamping bar alignable with said support bar and movable relative thereto, said bars being provided with complementary pins for supporting a bag thereon and apertures for receiving the pins therein when said bars are in clamping position, and locking means arranged with said bars and comprising interconnected coacting locking members separately operable to effect independent disengagement of said locking means, one of said locking members being carried by said clamping bar and the other being adapted to extend through a door to which said support bar is secured.

7. In a clothes container guard structure adapted to be secured to a door, a support bar adapted to be rigidly secured to the door, a clamping bar alignable with said support bar and being movable relative thereto, one of said bars being provided with pins for supporting a bag thereon and the other of said bars being provided with complementary apertures for receiving the pins therein when said bars are in clamping position, and locking means arranged with said bars and comprising interconnected coacting locking members separately operable to effect independent disengagement of said locking means, one of said locking members being key controlled at said clamping bar and the other being adapted to be cooperatively received in a door panel and being manipulatable from the side thereof remote from said clamping bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 285,908 Ludington Oct. 2, 1883 286,179 Cooper et a1. Oct. 9, 1883 514,530 Whittemore Feb. 13, 1894 1,394,177 Jones Oct. 18, 1921 1,477,566 Kazinski Dec. 18, 1923 1,507,584 Combs Sept. 9, 1924 2,042,021 Schlage May 26, 1936 2,296,020 Carter Sept. 15, 1942 2,461,426 King Feb. 8, 1949 2,523,969 Peters Sept. 26, 1950 2,620,648 Quigley Dec. 9, 1952 2,636,767 Groeger Apr. 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 270,167 Great Britain May 5, 1927 

